Applications of a new simulation model for media noise limited magnetic recording channels

A new model for the signal dependent transition noise and partial erasure which occur in the readback signal from thin film recording media is reviewed. This model, which is referred to as the microtrack model, has its basis in physics and can be entirely specified by three parameters of the media. It is used both as a simulation tool and for analytical calculation. Through simulation, the effect of various amounts of media noise on a PR4 channel is shown. Analytically, the amount of jitter and widening effects of the noise produced by the model are examined. Also, the autocorrelation of this noise and the effect of partial erasure on it is examined.